Miraculous Truths: The Secrets of the Past
by QuintessenceNevermore
Summary: Inspiration has caused me to rethink some details for the story, and I am going to rewrite the chapter. The major plot points will remain the same, but the details will change.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Marinette was in shock when she woke up. She was currently in what looked like an interrogation room, sitting next to Adrien. Across from them, an Interpol officer was seated.

The last thing Marinette remembered before waking up was just after Ladybug and Catnoir had chased away the powered up Hawkmoth. Ladybug and Cat Noir were retreating when she had noticed Cat Noir falling, appearing to be unconscious. She had caught him and brought him into an alleyway to hide him when she had felt a prick in the back of her neck and lost consciousness.

"Marinette, Adrien. You are probably wondering what you are doing here", said the Interpol Agent. "Well, I'll tell you why. Adrien, the girl sitting beside you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is the true identity of the one known as Ladybug." Not even pausing, he continued: "Marinette, the boy sitting next to you, Adrien Agreste, is the true identity of Cat Noir."

Both Marinette and Adrien stared at each other, a deep red blush on Marinette's face and an expression of shock on Adrien's.

The agent continued: "While I would have preferred your identities to be a secret (especially since my daughter is a fan of yours), I have been given orders directly from my superiors. In bringing you here, we allowed the reporter's cameras to catch sight of you transforming, so now everyone knows who you are. If you have any doubts, we can show you the feed if you want.

Realizing that Marinette was too shocked to respond, Adrien turned to the agent and said, "Despite my curiosity, I respected Ladybug's wishes for us to remain anonymous. Tell me, why have you endangered both us and our families and friends? And when Hawkmoth is finally gone, how can we return to our normal lives when we have a target on our backs? We only have these abilities BECAUSE of Hawkmoth's presence. When we no longer have them, we will become a target for those who desire power. We will constantly be on the run."

Marinette, who was still in shock, had to restrain herself from gushing over Adrien as she glared at the officer.

"Despite your efforts to stop Hawkmoth, his actions today were a declaration of war. With the power to take control of so many people, he could take over France, and may even be able to take over the entire world if he is no contained. Thus, my superiors decided that we needed to do what we could to help you. To stop Hawkmoth, we need your full cooperation, which includes knowing who you truly are. Since you always retreat so quickly, we decided to take matters into our own hands and force you to speak with us."

Marinette finally dared to speak as she said, "I can understand that you want to work with us to stop Hawkmoth. I can understand your need to know our true identity. But that does not explain why the entire world had to know. As A...A...Adr...Cat Noir said you put our families and friend lives at stake. I can live with never having a normal life. It is already too late for that. My problem is that you put my parents and my friends in danger."

The officer sighed and said, "Calm down. We have experts who have been studying Hawkmoth since he first appeared. We have found that Hawkmoth has never once attempted to kill anyone. His main focus is on you and your "Miraculous." Through extensive research, we have concluded that by revealing your identity it will protect them from harm. Hawkmoth will no longer have any need to draw your attention by taking control of innocent people. And with you under our protection, Hawkmoth will find it much harder to get to you."

After pausing for a moment, he continued: "My superiors have instructed me to ask you some questions, but for now you can go home. I will give you a week to decide if you will work with us or not. If you refuse even after thinking about it, I will have no other choice but to take your miraculous from you and give it to someone who will work with us."

After looking at the two adolescents, the officer said, "You must still be in shock about this. I will give you a moment to talk. Marinette, your parents, are waiting in the lobby. Adrien, we are still trying to contact Gabriel Agreste, but if you wish you can go the Marinette."

After the officer left the room, Adrien put a hand on Marinette's shoulder in an attempt to help her relax but got the opposite effect instead: She made a squeaking noise and pulled away, her face getting even redder than it already was.

Surprised, Adrien asked "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

Marinette shook her head and tried to speak, but nothing would come out.

Adrien could feel his irritation growing, and he angrily said, "Will you please say something! Do you hate me this much?"

An expression of horror appeared on Marinette's face, but before she could say anything, Tikki came out of her bag and angrily said, "This is not the time to be discussing this. We need to leave so that we can talk without them overhearing!"

Adrien sighed and said, "Fine" before going over to knock on the door to the room. When they were let out, Marinette hastily moved towards the lobby to meet her parents while Adrien followed behind with less enthusiasm.

The moment Marinette got into the lobby, she hugged her parents. When they released her, she stood awkwardly as her father approached Adrien. Marinette was scared at first at what her father was going to say, but what happened next shocked her. Her father hugged Adrien and said, "Thank you for protecting my daughter."

Her father invited Adrien to join his family for dinner, and though he tried to refuse her father insisted. The drive home was silent and awkward, and the meal was even more uncomfortable. Adrien and Marinette finally got some time alone when her parents said they would wash the dishes, and left them alone to talk.

Marinette quietly led Adrien up to her room and let Tikki out.

It was then that Plagg finally came out of Adrien's pocket and said "Can I get some cheese now? I'm starving."

Tikki, who appeared to be irritated, grabbed onto Plagg's ears and said, "You can have cheese later! Now is not the time."

Because Marinette still hadn't recovered, Adrien directed his question towards Tikki: "Why is Marinette acting so unusual?" Tikki started to answer, "I would tell you, but..."

Plagg interrupted, "Marinette is just embarrassed because she just found out that Cat Noir is the boy she has a crush on and is upset that she has been unknowingly rejecting him."

Marinette screamed at Plagg's blunt words, and Tikki slapped Plagg hard before flying over to comfort Marinette.

Now in a state of shock as well, Adrien collapsed onto his butt.

Plagg rubbed his cheek and said to Tikki, "It won't help to keep it a secret. It is better to get this drama over with now, or it will be even more difficult for Ladybug and Cat Noir to work together in the future."

Marinette forced herself to ask, "What does he mean, Tikki?"

Tikki looked sad as she explained, "Because you did not choose to reveal your identities to each other, you weren't ready for it. The result is that your unresolved feelings desynchronized you. If you try to go out and fight Hawkmoth or an Akuma in your current state, you will be easily defeated. I know this because with every Ladybug and Cat Noir I have known, one of two things always happens. They either find out when they are ready, and can resolve their issues, or find out by force, and they grow distant from each other. It is especially painful of Plagg and me because it causes us to become hostile towards each other. As you just saw, the process has already started. The last time there was an incident where Ladybug and Cat Noir found out too early, Plagg came up with an idea. He believes that we can prevent the problem by not keeping any secrets at all. That the sooner we start, the more likely we are to fix the problem. Last time, we didn't get a chance to try it out, but in the past, it also wasn't as vital as it is now."

Adrien once again tried to reach out to comfort Marinette, but she pretended not to notice as she reached over and hugged Tikki. "It's going to be okay, Tikki. I...I...I need time to process it."

Plagg groaned and said, "Tikki, if you won't tell them, then I will."

Tikki pulled away from Marinette and screamed: "No, they aren't ready for that yet!"

Plagg ignored her and said, "Master Fu didn't choose you to be Ladybug and Cat Noir. We did. We chose you because we know the truth about you."

Tikki was sobbing now as Plagg said: "Every single Ladybug and Cat Noir...are reincarnations of each other."

The room was silent, except for the sobbing of Tikki.

After a few minutes, Plagg flew over to Tikki, but when he reached over to comfort her, just like with Marinette with Adrien before, she pulled away. With a cold monotone voice, Tikki said: "Just leave me alone."

Plagg suddenly got angry and yelled at Marinette "Stop it with the moping! You're the reason Tikki is acting this wa...!" It was then that he lost consciousness, along with Tikki.

Worry overwhelming their confusion, Marinette quickly picked up Tikki and Plagg and said to Adrien "They're exhausted! They haven't been able to eat, for hours even though they were exhausted from the fight!"

Adrien stood up and said, "I'll go get some cheese for Plagg! What does Tikki need?"

"She loves chocolate chip cookies, but she will eat anything in the bakery. Just hurry!"

As Adrien rushed downstairs, Marinette rushed Tikki and Plagg over to her bed and set them down on her pillow.

"Please be okay!" she said, watching them struggle to breathe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Marinette started to pace back and forth while she waited for Adrien to come back, chewing on her fingernails nervously. Glancing at Tikki and Plagg, she gasped when she saw Plagg put his paw on Tikki's hand. Marinette had an urge to take out her phone and take a picture to show them later but pushed that thought away. It was no time to joke around, especially since she was having difficulty processing the info-dump Plagg and given earlier.

Adrien suddenly burst into the room with a basket full of cheese (which smelled terrible) and chocolate chip cookies. Accompanying him were her parents, who had a worried expression on their faces.

Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng watched silently as Adrien and Marinette worked together to feed Tikki and Plagg. Both Adrien and Marinette blushed whenever they brushed against each other, but fortunately, they were able to continue working.

As soon as the food was into there bodies, Tikki and Plagg finally sat up and no longer needed help as they ate. It was evident to Adrien and Marinette by their attitude that Tikki was still angry at Plagg, but at least they weren't in critical condition anymore.

Adrien once again tried to put his hand on Marinette's shoulder, and this time she only flinched but didn't pull away as Adrien said "They probably need time to talk. They need it just as much as we do."

Marinette nodded as she followed Adrien and her parents downstairs.

* * *

Once Marinette and Adrien were out of the room, Tikki stopped eating and said, "Plagg, you didn't tell them everything. Why?"

Plagg frowned and said, "I told them what they needed to know at the moment. Once they can process what I told them, and recover a bit more, I will tell them the rest."

"Please don't Plagg. So much has happened far too quickly already. They are already starting to break, and I fear that if you tell them, then you will destroy them."

Plagg glared at Tikki and angrily said "I know that already! I am Destruction, and you are Creation! To do this, we need to work together like we always have! Help to repair the damage to their minds so that I don't destroy them like last time!"

Tikki gasped as she remembered their previous failure.

"Tikki, in the past, whenever I started to destroy our relationship, you always fixed it. You always forgive me when I make mistakes or go too far, and though I have never said it, I fear the time will come when you don't do that."

Tikki sat in silence before picking up a cookie and offering it to Plagg. Accepting the cookie, interpreting it as forgiveness, Plagg offered her a piece of cheese in return. Despite the disgust on Tikki's face, she accepted Plagg's apology and forced herself to eat the horrid cheese. Plagg, on the other hand, had no difficulty at all swallowing the cookie she had given him.

Tikki hesitated before saying, "I will go with your plan this time, but if either of them starts to break, then I am taking control."

Plagg nodded and immediately went back to eating his cheese.

Tikki frowned at Plagg before returning to eat her cookies. _Why does he have to be infuriating?!_

* * *

The office of Gabriel Agreste was a mess. Papers scattered on the floor, and the computer on the ground broken, the desk was tipped over. The only thing intact was the chair Gabriel slumped in and a picture of his wife that he held in his hand. "My son..." He said. "This whole time, I have been fighting my son!"

After a moment of silence, Gabriel said, "Nooroo, go check on my son but make sure you don't get seen...AND COME BACK IMMEDIATELY."

Nooroo gasped in shock as the barrier preventing him from leaving shattered.

After Nooroo had left, Gabriel stood up (with the picture still in his hand) and opened the door to speak to Nathalie, who had been waiting patiently for his next order. He said with an exhausted sigh, "You can have the rest of the day off."

Sensing slight happiness coming from his assistant, he added, "Be safe. You still need to recover from using the Peacock. I need you back in peak condition as soon as possible."

After she had left, Gabriel went around the mansion telling staff to take the rest of the day off, including the man he hired as Adrien's bodyguard (whose name had forgotten long ago).

Once he was alone in the mansion, he realized that he was still carrying the picture of his wife. Staring at her longingly, he said sadly, "I don't know what to do. I want to revive you, but to do so means I must fight my son." After a few seconds, he asked, "Do I need the miraculous to bring you back? Is there a way I can do it without having to take from my son something that he enjoys?"

After staring at the picture, he had an epiphany. "I need to find the guardian of the miraculous! He might know what I can do!"

Ignoring the voice in his head telling him that he must get miraculous of Ladybug and Cat Noir at all cost, even his son, he hastily got out the map of Paris and started marking it. He divided the city into different sections and crossed off all the locations he had seen Ladybug and Cat Noir. There was no way they would allow his Akuma's to get anywhere near the guardian unless they had no idea who or where he, or she, lived.

_Tonight's going to be a long night,_ thought Gabriel as he worked on the map. Gabriel was so busy that he barely noticed Nooroo return, and when he did notice, he said, "Rest now. We are going to be busy tomorrow."

Turning back to the map, he said, "Since my son is Cat Noir, I need to keep my Akuma away from him. I can leave his safety in the hands of Ladybug for now. I need to concentrate on finding this Guardian."

Suddenly, Gabriel cried out in pain when his head started aching, and voice in his head said,** "Your son is** **irrelevant! You must get the Miraculous of Ladybug and Cat Noir at all cost! You need to save your wife!"**

Biting his lip, Gabriel growled, "Those aren't my thoughts! Who are you? Who dares to give orders to Hawkmoth!?"

The mysterious voice said, **"I am someone far more powerful than you! I have lived on this earth for longer than the Miraculous have been around. I am responsible for the weakened state of the kwami who reside in the Miraculous. I am responsible for the destruction of the Order of the Guardians. I am responsible for your wife's current state."**

Outraged, Gabriel said furiously, "You were the one that tampered with my wife's Miraculous!"

**"Yes. If you want me to help your wife, you will go through with your plan to capture the Miraculous. Or if you're going to risk Emilie's life, you can go and look for last Guardian.**

**If that isn't enough to convince you, I could always do the same to your assistant. You used to be close friends, at least according to her memories."**

Gripping his head tightly, he said, "I will never help the one who caused harm to my wife! Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!"

Combining his knowledge of magic, and the power of Nooroo, Gabriel fought to force the presence in his head. Any average person wouldn't have stood a chance against this entity, but Gabriel was no ordinary person. Even before he was given Nooroo by a one of the Guardians (now dead), he had studied magic. Gabriel could always sense the emotions of others. Now combined with Nooroo, Gabriel was even more powerful than he was on his own.

As soon as the presence left his head, the migraine went away, and the transformation wore off. Both Gabriel and Nooroo collapsed to the ground, exhausted, and Gabriel said, "This is far more urgent than reviving my wife. This unknown entity. I must find a way to defeat him. It is even more vital that I find the Guardian."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Marinette and Adrien sat awkwardly across from Tom and Sabine.

Marinette was about to speak when Sabine said, "Marinette, you don't have to explain. I know why you didn't tell us you were Ladybug. It was to protect us from Hawkmoth." Tom continued, "We aren't mad at you. But now that we do know, now that everyone knows, Sabine and I want you to be more honest with us. No more lies. Please promise that you won't lie about this anymore."

Marinette nodded and shyly said, "I promise."

Smiling proudly, Sabine turned to Adrien and said, "While you were upstairs, your father called. He said it would be safer for you to stay here for the night. He will personally come to get you tomorrow morning."

Adrien looked uncomfortable at the mention of his father, but he nodded respectfully.

Satisfied, Sabine said, "Why don't you two go have fun before bed. I'll go prepare a place for Adrien to sleep."

After Sabine and Tom left the room, Marinette turned to Adrien and gathering up all her courage she asked: "Do you want to play Ultra Mega Strike III?" Glad that Marinette was talking to him again, Adrien smiled and said: "Of course, M'lady." Marinette's face turned red as she blushed, and she quickly sped towards her room to set up the game.

Adrien sighed and thought, _How long is she going to act this way? _Following her from a distance, he watched her frantically setting up the game system. Despite the awkwardness that had filled the air since they learned each other's identity, the moment the game started, Marinette immediately forgot her embarrassment. Utterly oblivious to her surroundings, it was as if she became the video game character and saw what she needed to do to defeat her opponent. Adrien, despite his talent at the game, lost within seconds.

They continued like this for a while, and with each rematch, Adrien put more and more effort into the game trying to defeat Marinette. The war of rematches finally ended when Marinette suddenly fell onto Adrien unnaturally exhausted despite the sedentary activity. Worried, Adrien paused the game and gently adjusted Marinette's position so he could see her.

Marinette was breathing heavily, and her cheeks were flushed. Almost panicking about Marinette's condition, he called "Plagg...Tikki..." Sensing danger, Tikki quickly rushed over with Plagg moving lazily behind her.

Upon seeing Marinette's condition, Tikki gasped and exclaimed: "It's happening faster than before!" Adrien, still holding Marinette in his arms, asked hastily, "What's happening?"

Tikki had a look of fear on her face as she said, "Now that you both know each other's identity, the power within the Miraculous is growing stronger. The power is pouring out of them and absorbed by your bodies. Usually, it takes a few weeks for it to get to this point, giving the body more time to adjust. Marinette unknowingly used this power to win the game and as a result, burned up a large amount of energy in her body. She needs to restore that energy, and she'll be back to normal."

While Tikki had been explaining, Plagg had grabbed the plate of cookies and cheese from earlier and brought it over hoping to give it to Marinette. Adrien remembered what he had learned from his tutors and instructors and said, "She needs more than just sugar, or her body will crash later. But it should boost her long enough to eat supper."

After eating the rest of the cookies, Marinette was well enough to walk. With help. Adrien had her get in bed before going to notify her parents that she was unwell.

* * *

In all his years, Wang Fu had never been more confused. Mere moments ago, Wayzz had notified him that the dark presence caused by Hawkmoth had vanished. And it had happened right after the identity of Ladybug and Cat Noir was revealed to the whole world. The absence of the dark presence meant that Hawkmoth was no longer a threat. Fu should have felt relieved, but instead, he had a strong sense of danger. The last time he had felt his way was when the temple got destroyed, and he had to flee.

Deciding he needed to notify Marinette right away, he reached for his phone to call her. Just as he pushed the call button, pain flared up in his chest, and he collapsed.

* * *

Marinette woke up with a strong sense of dread. As she forced herself out of bed, she heard sobbing. Recognizing it as Tikki, she searched for her and found her on the desk with Plagg embracing her. Worried, she rushed over and asked with a panicked tone in her voice, "Tikki, what happened!"

Tikki couldn't bring herself to answer so Plagg looked up at her, tears in his eyes and said two words: "Master Fu..."

Not understanding, Marinette was about to ask for more information, but her mother opened the door and said "Marinette...some people are here to see you... They have some bad news."

Despite still being in the clothes she wore the day before, she quickly followed her mother down to the bakery where two men in suits were standing. She nervously asked, "You wanted to see me?"

One of the men asked, "Are you Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" After confirming her identity, the other man said: "We are sorry to say that late last night, the man Wang Fu died from Cardiac Arrest."

Marinette stiffened, her breathing became heavy, and she could feel her eyes burn as they teared up. The way Tikki and Plagg were behaving now made sense. Once again, the first man spoke, "We are telling you this because, in his will, he named you as his sole beneficiary."

Marinette collapsed onto her knees, and she nodded. The second man knelt beside her and kindly said, "It will take some time for his Will to be processed, but we wanted to get this news to you as soon as possible. We will visit again in about six months for the reading of his will."

Marinette nodded slowly before forcing herself to stand up. Immediately, her mother embraced her. As the men got ready to leave, the kind man said, "If you wish, I can see if I can arrange for you to visit Mr. Fu's residence next week. But for now, I'll leave you to mourne."

After the men left, Gabriel Agreste stepped out of a limo was parked in front of the bakery. Sabine Cheng opened the door to let Gabriel into the bakery, saying, "Adrien is currently helping Tom make breakfast. Would you like to eat with us?"

Gabriel hesitated, sensing negative emotion in the air, and directed his attention towards Marinette who was still crying. He immediately turned back to Sabine and politely said: "If you don't mind my intrusion, then I accept your invitation."

Sabine smiled and turned to Marinette and gently said, "Why don't you go wash up? Breakfast will be ready soon." Marinette nodded before rushing out of the room, ashamed to be crying in the presence of her idol.

After Marinette got to the bathroom, she wiped the tears out of her eyes and got into the shower. After cleaning herself, she cautiously snuck back to her room and got dressed as quickly as she could.

Once dressed, she looked at her reflection in her mirror. Her eyes were red from crying. _I need to be stronger. I can't let Hawkmoth take control of me. _Deciding not to put her hair up, she slowly went to the dining room where Adrien was setting the table.

Looking up at her, Adrien smiled and said: "I love your hair..." Seeing her face, he asked solemnly, "Did something happen?"

Marinette's resolve almost shattered, but she calmly said: "I can tell you later."

Seeing that she was close to breaking, Adrien did the only thing he could at the time. He wrapped his arms around her gently and held her as she sobbed for the second time that day.


End file.
